hi guys, i'm kinda new in polypterus's care, and still learning...i have an endlicheri about 6 months now, when it was very small, i used to fed it with silkworms twice (at morning and dusk) a day and i keep it in about 8.3 gal tank for the first 3 months, when it grows big, i moved it to 750 gal pond and i fed it with feeder goldfish (about 4-5 feeder goldfish per day)...i found it fascinating to pet endlicheri, so i bought another 2, but this time i'm kinda frustrated when feeding them, i try all kind of fish live food in my country (silkworms, very very small feeder goldfishes, small glass shrimps) still they didn't it, even the feeder goldfish has grown too big to be fed on and i ended up on fed it to my old endlicehri in the pond...what should i do to them so they wanted to eat...?

I had to look up your polypterus. I always learn while reading other people's questions. I am attaching a link that might be helpful. It appears these creatures do not have good eyesight, and pellets or food that will drop to the bottom might work and they like to eat at night. http://polypterus.info/keeping_polypterus.htmHopefully, this link will work for you.Good Luck!Cyneah

Your Bichir is not one that I had generally seen in the aquarium trade very often. I've only encountered them a few times. Bichirs do have many same similarities however. It is good that you are keeping your young specimens in a holding or quarantine aquarium to watch them. Almost all Bichirs are gathered from the wild and require some time to get used to the riggers of captivity. Some of things that all Bichers have in common is that they use their sense of smell over sight.

Some of the foods you mentioned should normally be consumed under wild conditions, but in captivity, that may require not only a meaty-type food, but actual assistance on your part on the way the food is present or made available to them. If you have a light over their tank, I would turn it off and just use ambient room light. But I digress. The way my husband and I conditioned new young Bichirs was to use very long stainless steel tweezers. We started with thawed frozen bloodworms and had to literally hold the worm(s) in -place just ahead of them. We then graduated to tiny thawed frozen clams and did the same thing. By the time the fish reached abut 6 total inches length, I would alternate holding the food in front of them and releasing it in front of them. They eventually must have learned than they actually had to spend some energy going after the food themselves. It varies on the learning for carnivore sinking tablets, but eventually those would work also.

So, I guess it is not only what you feed them, but how you feed them. Those long tweezers worked very well for us.

I almost forgot something.....You should be providing some kind of cover for yor fish to duck in and out from when they start actually search for food and while they are being observed and conditioned in quarantine.

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@cyneahThanx for the link, I learn a lot about those fascinating fishes from that site... =)

@rasaquaHmm, I don't about that, endlicheris, senegalus and albino palmas are abundant here, u'll certainly meet these fishes waiting at most fish stores in my country...So, I should actualy place those food right in front of their face...? well, that's a new trick i should try... xDThough I prefer to watch them hunting their preys... But I do curious about those long tweezers that u're talking about, can u show me how does those long tweezers look like...? o.O

Depending on the depth of the water, you may have to get your hand wet. Something I forgot to mention above; foot print of your aquarium is more important than a deep tank when housing Bichors. Of course, the tank should still have a good canopy to prevent escapes.

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